St Swithun's Church, East Grinstead (from Liturgical SE)

St. Swithun's is a Church of England

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

in East Grinstead, West Sussex, England, which is a Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. The site had a church since the 11th century. It was struck by lightning in 1772 and after it was rebuilt by

James Wyatt James Wyatt (3 August 1746 – 4 September 1813) was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the neoclassical and neo-Gothic styles. He was elected to the Royal Academy in 1785 and was its president from 1805 to 1806. Early life W ...

it was opened in 1789. It is situated on a hill-top site near entrance to town, where in the past several tracks met. The area began to be settled in the late tenth century: and St Swithun (Bishop of Winchester, 852–862) was the choice for church patron. To this day it remains a visible landmark. Near the entrance to the church, three stones mark the supposed ashes of Anne Tree, Thomas Dunngate and John Forman who were burned as martyrs on 18 July 1556 because they would not renounce the Protestant faith. Due to the method of execution and the charge of 'heresy', the three were later assumed in local folklore to have been charged with

witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have ...

and are referred to as 'the witches'. From 1871 to 1908, the vicar of the church was Douglas Yeoman Blakiston. Prior to being ordained, he had worked as an artist. Two large oil paintings by him remain in the church as do several organ pipes he painted with portraits of parishioners. His son,

Herbert Blakiston Herbert Edward Douglas Blakiston (5 September 1862 – 29 July 1942) was an England, English academic and clergyman who served as President (college), President of Trinity College, Oxford, and as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford.Clare ...

, went on to become Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford. A national appeal for funds raised £516 in 1788. A programme of restoration in 1874 inaugurated the present appearance. A Trust Fund was set up in 1979 to provide funding for restoration. It is independent of the Parochial Church Council.

References

External links

Official siteTrust Fund site
Church of England church buildings in Mid Sussex District Grade II* listed churches in West Sussex East Grinstead {{England-church-stub